Split gate non-volatile flash memory cells having a select gate, a floating gate, a control gate and an erase gate are well known in the art. See for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,747,310 and 7,868,375. An erase gate having an overhang over the floating gate is also well known in the art. See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,848. All three of these patents are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Silicon dioxide has been used as a gate dielectric for select gate, also called WL (word-line), of split gate non-volatile flash memory. As flash memory cells have reduced in size, the thickness of the silicon dioxide has become thinner to increase the gate capacitance for higher current drive. However, as the select gate oxide is reduced to below 2 nm, the oxide leakage current increases significantly. As discussed below, replacing silicon dioxide with gate first, or replacement metal gate (HKMG—High-K Metal Gate) can alleviate the leakage and at the same time enhance the select gate current drive for cell read current.
Accordingly, it is one of the objectives of the present invention to improve the performance of memory cells as they continue to shrink in size.